渤海底质沉积物粒度特征及输运趋势探讨

基于对渤海171个表层沉积物样品的粒度分析测试结果,使用Gao-Collins粒径趋势分析方法,研究了渤海底质沉积物的分布特征和输运趋势,结果表明:渤海粗粒级沉积物主要分布于辽东和渤中浅滩附近,在滦河口和黄河口也有零星分布;细粒级沉积物主要分布于渤海湾中部和南部,并呈条带状向辽东湾方向延伸;细粒级沉积物分选较粗粒级沉积物好,偏态系数较低;渤海细粒级沉积区为渤海的现代沉积中心,周边沉积物有向这个沉积中心汇聚的输运趋势。这种沉积物分布格局和输运趋势主要受潮流和渤海环流的控制。     

Deep-water Circulation: Processes & Products (16�C18 June 2010, Baiona): introduction and future challenges

Deep-water circulation is a critical part of the global conveyor belt that regulates Earth??s climate. The bottom (contour)-current component of this circulation is of key significance in shaping the deep seafloor through erosion, transport, and deposition. As a result, there exists a high variety of large-scale erosional and depositional features (drifts) that together form more complex contourite depositional systems on continental slopes and rises as well as in ocean basins, generated by different water masses flowing at different depths and at different speeds either in the same or in opposite directions. Yet, the nature of these deep-water processes and the deposited contourites is still poorly understood in detail. Their ultimate decoding will undoubtedly yield information of fundamental importance to the earth and ocean sciences. The international congress Deep-water Circulation: Processes & Products was held from 16?C18 June 2010 in Baiona, Spain, hosted by the University of Vigo. Volume 31(5/6) of Geo-Marine Letters is a special double issue containing 17 selected contributions from the congress, guest edited by F.J. Hernández-Molina, D.A.V. Stow, E. Llave, M. Rebesco, G. Ercilla, D. Van Rooij, A. Mena, J.-T. Vázquez and A.H.L. Voelker. The papers and discussions at the congress and the articles in this special issue provide a truly multidisciplinary perspective of interest to both academic and industrial participants, contributing to the advancement of knowledge on deep-water bottom circulation and related processes, as well as contourite sedimentation. The multidisciplinary contributions (including geomorphology, tectonics, stratigraphy, sedimentology, paleoceanography, physical oceanography, and deep-water ecology) have demonstrated that advances in paleoceanographic reconstructions and our understanding of the ocean??s role in the global climate system depend largely on the feedbacks among disciplines. New insights into the link between the biota of deep-water ecosystems and bottom currents confirm the need for this field to be investigated and mapped in detail. Likewise, it is confirmed that deep-water contourites are not only of academic interest but also potential resources of economic value. Cumulatively, both the congress and the present volume serve to demonstrate that the role of bottom currents in shaping the seafloor has to date been generally underestimated, and that our understanding of such systems is still in its infancy. Future research on contourites, using new and more advanced techniques, should focus on a more detailed visualization of water-mass circulation and its variability, in order to decipher the physical processes involved and the associations between drifts and other common bedforms. Moreover, contourite facies models should be better established, including their associations with other deep-water sedimentary environments both in modern and ancient submarine domains. The rapid increase in deep-water exploration and the new deep-water technologies available to the oil industry and academic institutions will undoubtedly lead to spectacular advances in contourite research in terms of processes, morphology, sediment stacking patterns, facies, and their relationships with other deep-marine depositional systems.     

长江口崇明东滩水域悬沙粒径组成和再悬浮作用特征

根据2006年10月在崇明东滩潮间带和潮下带两个站位的大小潮水文泥沙观测资料和悬沙水样的室内粒度分析资料,对悬沙粒径的时空分布特征及其与流速等的关系进行了分析,并对再悬浮特点进行了探讨,结果表明,大小潮期间的悬沙颗粒组成较细,平均粒径的均值仅为6μm;大潮时的悬沙粒径略粗于小潮的,潮间带的略粗于潮下带的;由底床向上悬沙粒径趋于减小。悬沙粒径与流速、悬沙含量无明显的统计学关系,底质粒径、再悬浮强度和再悬浮泥沙粒径的空间变化以及浮泥的悬浮作用等是主要的影响因素。由于底质粒径的空间分布复杂,在东滩水域再悬浮具有明显的空间变化。在底质平均粒径大于60μm的粗颗粒沉积区,大小潮的再悬浮作用微小,底质以推移质运动为主。在底质平均粒径介于5~11μm的细颗粒沉积区上,悬沙级配与底质级配基本相同,该区域是再悬浮的主要发生源地;悬沙级配的变化过程揭示,再悬浮对底层悬沙的贡献率平均为8%~20%,大潮时的再悬浮强度是小潮的5~10倍,由底质再悬浮产生的悬沙在底部水层中的平均含量约为0.03~0.47 kg/m3。     

Identification,characterization, and statistical analysis of mudstone aggregate clasts,Cretaceous Carlile Formation,Central Alberta,Canada

While clastic mudstones and shale were traditionally interpreted to have been deposited in quiet water settings, recent flume experiments and studies have shown that mud can be transported in and deposited by traction currents as migrating ripples of mud aggregates. Despite these recent advances, mud aggregates have rarely been adequately described in the rock record.These mud aggregates and the sedimentary structures they form in mudstone successions are difficult to observe in the rock record due to compaction, which often obliterates the aggregates and flattens bedforms. This paper documents unambiguously identifiable sand sized mudstone aggregates in thin sections and SEM, transported in traction, and deposited in a series of prograding clinothems. These aggregates were sufficiently indurated to locally preserve shelter porosity, significantly improving the hydrocarbon reservoir properties.Grain size analysis of the aggregates was performed on thin sections, as well as disaggregated samples measured by a laser diffraction grain size analyzer for comparison. These analyses showed that sand sized aggregates often comprise more than half of the sediment volume. While the clay-rich composition of the Carlile Formation would suggest that it is a mudstone, statistical analysis of these grain size measurements show that it could alternatively be described as a silty sandstone. These findings potentially change how we think about mudstone classification, fine-grained sedimentation, and mudstone dominated petroleum reservoirs.     

Sedimentology of box cores from the Cap-Ferret Canyon area (Bay of Biscay)

Sedimentological and geochemical investigations of 45 box cores collected in various morphological settings of the Cap-Ferret Canyon (Bay of Biscay) are presented to document accurately present-day sedimentary processes on the eastern Atlantic continental slope. The magnitude and variations through time and space of the canyon's channelling or sinking effect on fine-grained particles behaviour in comparison with sediment flux across the continental margin was particularly considered and discussed:1. All the parameters (grain-size, carbonate and water content, major and trace elements), measured both in surface sediment and downcore, demonstrate that the characteristics at the sediment interface vary with water depth and with the morphological setting.2. Surface sediment is generally coarser-grained, more terrigenous and deposited at higher rate in the canyon than outside. The terrigenous particle supply must be preferentially directed and trapped within the canyon's depression due to present-day dynamic conditions.3. The downcore gradients reflected in grain-size variations yield information on settling processes. The coarse-grained population has the characteristics of a winnowed sediment similar to those on the outer shelf, while the fine-grained population has grain-size spectra very similar to the present-day fine-grained suspensions.4. The carbonate particles are partly derived from direct pelagic production (distinct grain-size distribution) and, like terrigenous grains, are partly reworked (similar downslope decrease in the coarse grained fraction). The relatively low CaCO₃ content observed in the canyon, and its downward increase up to values observed at shallower depths, may result from a channelling of terrigenous suspensions within the canyon.5. At the present high sea-level stand, the canyon should become a trap for sediments without much gravity remobilisation, as indicated by a lack of sedimentary structures in box cores. However, a simple increase in sediment trapping can hardly account for the downcore gradients observed in the box cores. These trends, which are observed on other continental margins (Monaco et al., 1993, Journées spécialisées de la Soc. Géol. France: Géosciences Marines, 16–17 December 1994, Abstract p. 83.), indicate a probable increase in terrigenous supplies and/or in settling energy.     

Seismic expression of shallow- to deep-water contourites along the south-eastern Brazilian margin

The Neogene-to-Quaternary sediment section along the south-eastern Brazilian margin was deeply influenced by bottom currents acting from the upper slope down to the continental rise in water depths ranging from 100 m to >3,500 m. Different depositional styles are observed as a resultant of the interaction between bottom currents, seafloor topography, available grain size and time span involved in the process. Their importance in the sedimentary record varies in accordance with the intensity of that interaction. Deposits associated to bottom currents are both coarse-grained and fine-grained and are distributed along all margins. The identification of coarse-grained deposits in deep-water is critical for the petroleum industry, thus characterising sandy contourites as relevant for the understanding of reservoir analogues. Slope plastered sand sheets occur in the upper slope setting. They are strike-fed, along slope-elongated and internally characterised by high amplitude seismic reflections usually developing reflection free blankets above erosional terraces due to their small thickness (in average less than 30 m thick). Middle and lower slope contourites are mostly constituted of fine-grained plastered and separated drifts, where a general upslope migration trend and an erosional basal surface are observed. The seafloor topography from the foot of the slope towards the continental rise is controlled by salt walls and diapirs which influence the acceleration of the currents and the development of contourite drifts. Paleoceanographic reconstructions supported by seismic evidence indicate that the major currents sculpting the seafloor are southerly originated and their action can overcome the importance of gravity currents where continental supply is reduced.E&P/UN-RIO/ATEX/ABIG-PL     

Facies, internal structures and sequences of modern Gironde-derived muds on the Aquitaine inner shelf, France

Seventy cores from the Aquitaine continental shelf were examined using radiographic and grain-size techniques in order to describe the sedimentary structures of the muddy deposits, and to evaluate their depositional processes. Four lithofacies are identified in this fine-grained deposit: (a) homogeneous silty sand, (b) interbedded homogeneous mud and sand, (c) silty-clayey mud, and (d) mottled mud. They show a logical pattern in relationship to the water depth and the distance from the coast.

Primary structures are present particularly in the landward and central portion of the mud fields, where the sediment is organized into sequences with a sharp-based erosional contact, overlain by a fining-up succession (centimetre to decimetre scale). The beginning of each of these is characteristic of a high-energy storm event, which is common on this shelf. The settling of suspended fine sediment corresponds to the flood estuarine discharge during quiet periods. Primary sedimentary structures decrease in the distal area where the muddy sediment is frequently reworked by infauna. Finally, primary structures and their preservation depend on the relative magnitudes of surface waves, storms, infaunal mixing and fluvial sediment deposition rates (i.e. floods).     

Seismic features and origin of sediment waves in the Qiongdongnan Basin, northern South China Sea

Sediment waves have been documented around the world for several decades, and their origins are still debated because of their various characteristics in different settings. Based on numerous high-resolution seismic profiles and two boreholes, sediment waves are identified in deepwater areas of the eastern Qiongdongnan Basin, and their distribution and seismic features are illustrated. Combined with the bathymetry, the potential origins of these sediment waves are discussed. Drilling in the central canyon revealed that the channel infill comprises some along-slope fine-grained turbidites, which are good reservoir for gas plays. The sediment waves are distributed on the banks of the central canyon and their seismic features indicate that most of them are caused by turbidity current overflows along the canyon. Although previous researches on these sediment waves suggested that they were of westward-flowing contourite origin, detailed topographic map derived from the seafloor reflector on seismic data shows that there is a N–S trending ridge at the east part of sediment wave zones, which could block and divert the bottom current. According to the geometry of sediment waves, the flow thicknesses across the entire wave field are calculated as 280–560 m, and the current velocity falls in the range of 30–130 cm/s, which would favor a fine-grained composition and could be a good reservoir because of the better sorting of turbidites than contourites or other gravity flow deposits.     

Characterizing the depositional settings for sedimentary organic matter distributions in the Lower Yangtze River-East China Sea Shelf System

Grain-size distributions, total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) concentrations, and TOC/TN ratios (C/N) were analysed for surface sediments from the Lower Yangtze River-East China Sea (ECS) shelf system. Hierarchical cluster analysis of grain-size parameters (mode, mean, sorting, skewness and kurtosis) has been employed to characterize grain-size compositions. The results suggest there are five grain-size compositional types (type-I–V) that fingerprint distinct depositional conditions. In areas with high sedimentation rates, hydrological sorting preferentially enriches the fraction coarser than 6.4ø (12 μm) in shallow seafloor sediments (water depth<30 m) by transporting the finer fraction to the deeper seafloor (water depth>30 m), and thus forms grain-size compositional type-I (shallow) and type-II (deep). In the open shelf, where modern sediment supply is very limited, grain-size types-III–V are identified according to different winnowing intensity. Overall TOC contents significantly correlate with mud proportions, suggesting muddy sediments are the primary control on OM accumulation. However, de-association of terrestrial OM from fine sediments in the Estuary and the occurrence of presumably relict OM in the open shelf exert additional controls on OM dispersal and carbon cycling in the ECS. By considering geography, oceanography, sediment source, and the relation between sedimentation conditions and sedimentary OM distributions, we define six depositional settings: the lower river, the estuary, the coast, the offshore upwelling area, the erosional area, and the open shelf. These settings describe the sediment dispersal and associated organic matter cycling in the Lower Yangtze River-ECS shelf system.     

A record of fluctuating bottom currents on the slopes west of the Porcupine Bank,offshore Ireland — implications for Late Quaternary climate forcing

Both local and regional controls on slope sedimentation west of Porcupine Bank are assessed using an array of 25 gravity cores, integrated with shallow seismic, TOBI side-scan and high-resolution bathymetry data. The cores were retrieved from an area of smooth, distally steepened slope (between 52° and 53°N) in water depths of 950 to 2750 m. The slope here is unmodified by gravity failures and is swept by bottom currents that flow from S to N along the margin. The cores reveal a coherent shallow stratigraphy that can be traced along and between transects at upper-, mid- and lower-slope levels. AMS ¹⁴C dating, oxygen-isotopes and carbonate profiles suggest the cored record could extend as far back as 500 ka in the longest cores, with most cores providing details of the slope response to the last interglacial, last glacial and Holocene forcing. The facies indicate deposition was dominated by a combination of bottom currents, ice-rafting and hemipelagic settling, with carbonate-prone deposits during interglacials, and siliciclastic deposits during glacials. Inferred contourites imply that strong currents operated during interglacials, with weaker current reworking during glacial conditions. A pair of erosion surfaces record significant mid- and upper-slope scouring during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS 3) and in the Early Holocene. The lateral facies distribution implies stronger currents at shallower levels on the slope, although there is evidence that the core of the current migrated up and down the slope, and that sand might locally have spilt down-slope. The bathymetry influenced both the wider geometry of the condensed contourite sheet and the local thickness and facies variation across the slope. A significant result of the study is the identification of a pair of thin sand–mud contourite couplets that record enhanced bottom-current reworking corresponding to periods of interstadial warming during MIS 3. The couplets can be correlated to the terrestrial records onshore Ireland and imply that the NE Atlantic margin oceanographic and onshore climate records are strongly coupled at interstadial level.     

Grain-size distribution patterns of suspended sediment in response to hydrodynamics on the Dafeng intertidal flat, Jiangsu, China

1Introduction The sediment dynamics of intertidal flats in-volves erosion, transport, and settling processes. A-mong these, the mechanisms of sediment transportare a key question. Progress has been made in awide range of associated areas, including sedime…     

连云港海域废黄河水下三角洲北翼的沉积特征与空间分布

基于连云港海域浅地层剖面资料解释和16个站位柱状岩心的剖面观察、粒度分析、微体化石鉴定、有孔虫和腹足类纹沼螺的AMS 14C年龄,分析废黄河水下三角洲北翼的沉积结构、厚度和沉积物组成,划分沉积单元及其分布范围;识别海侵沉积区的沉积相,认识其沉积环境特征。结果表明,水下三角洲沉积体可分为三角洲前缘和前三角洲两个沉积单元,两者沿连云港海岸线呈并置关系。三角洲前缘位于埒子口至新淮河口外,为一NNE向进积、NW向倾斜的扇形楔状体,可识别出灌河叶瓣及其以东的叶瓣两个沉积中心。该沉积单元以砂质沉积为主,两个叶瓣之间的分流间湾分布有泥和砂质泥。前三角洲位于三角洲前缘西北侧,大致从埒子口外侧沿海岸带向海州湾展布。该单元为泥质沉积,厚度较薄,其北部的两个柱状岩心所揭示的沉积厚度分别为1.8 m和1.5 m。水下三角洲以北,海侵沙席分布广泛,厚度通常在20 cm左右。其分布在本区具有普遍性,只是在连云港海域被黄河泥沙所覆盖,由此也构成了废黄河水下三角洲的底界面。该界面具有侵蚀残留地貌特征。海侵沙席之下为晚更新世MIS 3阶段中早期的海陆过渡相沉积。沉积物多由黄色粉砂或砂质粉砂组成,含有较丰富的有孔虫、介形虫等,可见淡水纹沼螺。     

Fine-grained sediments in deep water: An overview of processes and facies models

There appears to be a continuum of processes affecting the transport and deposition of fine-grained sediments in the deep sea. This results in a facies continuum within which we can recognize three broadly different facies groups: turbidites, contourites, and pelagites/hemipelagites. Several distinct facies models can be defined for each group on the basis of their chief structural, textural, and compositional attributes.     

Facies architecture of the mixed carbonate/siliciclastic inner continental shelf of west-central Florida: implications for Holocene barrier development

Sediment vibracores and surface samples were collected from the mixed carbonate/siliciclastic inner shelf of west–central Florida in an effort to determine the three-dimensional facies architecture and Holocene geologic development of the coastal barrier-island and adjacent shallow marine environments. The unconsolidated sediment veneer is thin (generally <3 m), with a patchy distribution. Nine facies are identified representing Miocene platform deposits (limestone gravel and blue–green clay facies), Pleistocene restricted marine deposits (lime mud facies), and Holocene back-barrier (organic muddy sand, olive-gray mud, and muddy sand facies) and open marine (well-sorted quartz sand, shelly sand, and black sand facies) deposits. Holocene back-barrier facies are separated from overlying open marine facies by a ravinement surface formed during the late Holocene rise in sea level. Facies associations are naturally divided into four discrete types. The pattern of distribution and ages of facies suggest that barrier islands developed approximately 8200 yr BP and in excess of 20 km seaward of the present coastline in the north, and more recently and nearer to their present position in the south. No barrier-island development prior to approximately 8200 yr BP is indicated. Initiation of barrier-island development is most likely due to a slowing in the Holocene sea-level rise ca. 8000 yr BP, coupled with the intersection of the coast with quartz sand deposits formed during Pleistocene sea-level highstands. This study is an example of a mixed carbonate/siliciclastic shallow marine depositional system that is tightly constrained in both time and sea-level position. It provides a useful analog for the study of other, similar depositional systems in both the modern and ancient rock record.     

近百年来黄河改道及输沙量变化对山东半岛泥质楔沉积物粒度特征的影响

对山东半岛泥质楔柱状样进行沉积物粒度分析,并在210Pb测年基础上结合黄河年输沙量、悬浮泥沙粒径、河口位置及沿岸流强弱替代指标等数据研究近百年来黄河改道及输沙量变化对远端沉积区沉积特征的影响。研究结果显示,研究区沉积物粒度的变化是黄河入海泥沙特征和沿岸流等水动力作用共同影响的结果。1884–1939年及1947–1999年,研究区沉积物粒度特征的变化主要受到沿岸流强弱的影响;1939–1947年及1999–2012年,受1938–1947年花园口决堤以及20世纪90年代末以来黄河年输沙量持续偏低致使源区泥沙不足的影响,沉积物粒度相对粗化,与沿岸流强度的相关性减弱。与黄河入海泥沙近端沉积区不同,研究区粒度特征对黄河尾闾改道事件不敏感,且对花园口决堤及年输沙量低于临界值的响应有一定程度的延迟,这与该区沉积物经历了再悬浮过程及中间复杂的物质混合有关。黄河改道及输沙量变化仍然是远端沉积区沉积特征演化不可忽视的因素。     

鄂尔多斯盆地西南缘奥陶系深水牵引流沉积

深水牵引流沉积是沉积学中的一个重要研究领域，包括内潮汐、内波沉积和等深流沉积两大类，主要发育于海洋深水区。深水牵引流沉积的研究起步较晚，目前主要集中于现代深海沉积和野外露头研究，对深埋地下的古代深水牵引流沉积发现较少，其所具有的油气潜能还不被人们所认识。本文论述了鄂尔多斯盆地西南缘奥陶系内潮汐沉积、等深流沉积的特征和沉积类型。内潮汐沉积是在研究区首次发现，以灰色中一细砂岩为主，部分为粗粉砂岩，单层厚十余厘米至数十厘米，砂岩以普遍发育双向交错纹理为特征。等深岩丘主要由3种碳酸盐等深岩组成，即砂屑等深岩、粉屑等深岩和灰泥等深岩，共发育有4种层序样式。最后，阐明了其油气勘探意义，并分析了其潜在的油气勘探价值。     

Sediment distribution patterns on the Galicia-Minho continental shelf

A sedimentological and bathymetric study of the Minho-Galicia Shelf shows a strong contrast between a southern shelf region with a thin partially relict cover of sands and gravel, and a northern region where fine-grained sediments predominate. This contrast is explained through differences in the sediment supply, the oceanographic environment (storms and ocean currents) and the morphology of the shelf which results from its underlying tectonic framework.Most sediment is supplied to the Galicia-Minho Shelf by river discharges onto the Minho Shelf, particularly that from the Douro River. In the northern part of the shelf the Galician Rías act as sediment traps rather than sediment suppliers. The bulk of the sediment washes out of the rivers during episodic storm events. While most of the coarse sediments remain deposited close to the coast, the fine-grained material is exported to the outer areas of the shelf. Subsequently, coarse sediments close to the coast are transported southwards by the littoral drift. Whereas the fine-grained material is frequently resuspended through the action of the large swells who influence reaches deep into the water. This frequent resuspension has a long-term sorting effect on the sediments. Furthermore, resuspended sediments on the middle and outer regions of the shelf are transported northwards by a poleward flowing bottom current.As a consequence of the differential transport of coarse sediments to the south, and of the fine-grained sediments to the north, the outer reaches of the Minho Shelf are relatively poor in recent sediments. In many areas relict sediments as well as features associated with ancient coastlines and river mouths, still appear as seabed features. In contrast, the northern regions of the shelf are covered by a thin veneer of fine-grained material that smooth other most of these fossil features.The fine-grained sediment fractions (mostly very fine sands to coarse silts) are deposited in two large mud patches, the Douro and the Galicia Mud Patches, which are situated at water depths of around 100–120 m. These two mud patches are both controlled by the local hydrodynamics and morphology. The Beiral de Viana, to the west of the Douro Mud Patch is a plateau, up to 20 m high lying parallel to the shelf-break and is a morphological expression of an underlying horst system. This plateau acts as a barrier that prevents the drift of some of the fine-grained material to the west, out over the shelf-break and the continental slope. The Galicia Mud Patch is situated on the eastern part of the Galician Shelf to the north of the Douro Mud Patch. It is situated near the extension of the Porto–Tomar fault, which results in the shelf being usually steep in this region, down to a depth of about 100 m. West of this area the slope is much more gentle. Northward transport of the sediment is strongly reduced by the E–W trending outcrops of plutonic and metamorphic rocks.     

Seismic expression of contourites and related deposits: a preface

Contourites are widespread throughout the deep sea, ranging from those that build up individually distinct bodies (mounded drifts) to those that occur closely interbedded with other deep-water facies. Although seismic data should not be used to make a firm identification of contourites without supporting evidence, much progress has been made in determining the combination of seismic criteria that best represent contourite deposits. With some modifications and additions, these criteria are in broad agreement with those recently proposed by Faugères and colleagues (1999). The papers in this special issue are mainly drawn from those presented at an IGCP workshop held in Trieste, Italy (October 2000), together with selected additions. Some of the new and important topics covered include: discussion of bottom-current controlled deposits on continental shelves and in large lakes (shallow-water and lacustrine `contourites'); the unique characteristics of high-latitude contourite systems that show interaction with turbidity current, debris flow and glacigenic processes; and the importance of local slope topography, developed as a result of synsedimentary tectonics and downslope mass movement, in focussing and shaping drift deposits (infill and fault-related drifts). An introduction to the powerful use of 3D seismic data in understanding contourite systems points the way towards important future research.